The Cooper Collection of Vintage Baseball Games

The finest collection of vintage baseball-themed board and arcade games ever assembled, The Dr. Mark W. Cooper Collection, is currently being offered in its entirety via private treaty sale from Heritage Auctions.

“The best-known documentation of baseball’s rich history comes in the form of the rare early cardboard that bears the faces of great players,” said Chris Ivy, director of vintage sports memorabilia at Heritage. “The purest expression of diamond worship, however, may well be the board games that have echoed all the eras and great players, and nowhere is this made more evident than in Dr. Cooper’s amazing collection.”

Painstakingly assembled by leading hobby expert Dr. Mark Cooper, this collection of over 250 games spans a full century (1860’s to 1960’s). It includes some of the rarest and most well-preserved examples known to exist.”

Though as a collection it is obviously fascinating and unrivaled, the game in the collection that interests me most is the 1868 The New Parlor Game of Base Ball, which is widely recognized as the earliest tabletop baseball game known to exist.

According to the site, “interested parties are encouraged to contact Chris Ivy to discuss the details of the collection, and to receive our full brochure featuring the highlights and details of this offering.”

1868 New Parlor Game of Base Ball is believed to be the earliest tabletop baseball game